involved him in the deepest contradictions of art and politics. He embraced European modernism in the form of
Cubism, only to abandon it in favor of an attempt to express the Mexican character in art, turning to ancient and folk traditions for inspiration. He espoused revolutionary communism but happily accepted commissions from wealthy socialites and capitalist businessmen and admired the technological achievements of the United States. His famously turbulent marriage to the painter Frida Kahlo has recently brought Rivera's name into prominence, but few
people today fully understand his achievement. The great years of Rivera's art -- the 1920s and early 1930s -- saw an outpouring of work that was equal to the achievement of any twentieth-century master.PPete Hamill's Diego Rivera narrates the life and explores the art of this remarkable figure: prodigiously productive artist, polemicist and political activist, Mexican nationalist, and lover of many women. Acknowledging the cost of Rivera's didactic communism, Hamill focuses on what is enduring in his work. The book, filled with fascinating historical insights, presents Rivera's work at its highest level. The first-rate reproductions show the full range of his art, including murals, paintings, drawings, and illustrations, as well as documentary photographs.
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